Ya Man Ain't Me
by AnimalGurl55
Summary: Rachel Roth's boyfriend Malcolm has always been treating her badly, and this time he's gone too far. Well, Garfield Logan has one thing to say, 'Ya man ain't me.' KORxRICH, GARxRAExMAL, VICxKAR, JENxWAL
1. First Day

**Ya Man Ain't Me**

**By AnimalGurl55**

_**Chapter 1: First Day**_

"_Girl I bet that he be actin' all cocky like _

_Like he deserves you, and you so lucky to be with him"_

* * *

Garfield Logan slicked back his hair with gel. He clicked his tongue against his teeth and made a fake gun with his hand. He looked at his reflection in the mirror.

" Gar Logan," he said, " you are one HOT stud. All the girls are going to be all over you. And when Kori sees her old friend, she's going to be _amazed_ at how much you've changed."

" Sure I will."

" GAH!" he turned around to see Kori climbing through the window. " Still climbing up my window like when we were younger, I see."

" Indubitably"

" Say what?"

" It's not a word that you can spell, my dear friend."

"I bet I could!" He thought his hardest, which at sometimes, was barely anything. " Um…I-N-D…E-B… Can you use it in a sentence?"

" Your word is indubitably."

" That helps."

" Just don't hurt yourself Garfield. Now are you going to continue to talk to your mirror, or are you going to come over her and give me a hug?" Her arms were out stretched.

He gave her a mighty hug. " It's so good to see you Kori!"

" You have to meet _all _my friends! And my boyfriend."

He gasped at her. " _You _have a boyfriend? Little miss 'boys have cooties, eww!' I can't believe you! I am appalled!"

" That was the 3rd grade Garfield! I left in 6th grade! And don't forget your little pun you made me do with you! Some random girl says 'What's your name hottie?'"

" Mr. Un."

" 'Do you have a last name Mr. Un?' And then I say ' Yeah, it's available."

He gave her his customary goofy grin. " And then we both say ' As in UNAVAILIBLE!" He rolled around laughing.

His mother's voice was heard downstairs. " Garfield Logan! You don't want to be late for your first day at Jump High!" **(A/N: I'm doing the school system like it is in Tennessee. K-4 is elementary school, 5-8 is middle school, 9-12 high school. And if you're really smart like me and Kori you can be in Pre-Algebra in 6th grade. And like me and Kori you can be in the advance classes. And like me and Kori you've never had lower than a 95 in your life. Show of hands! …Wow, there isn't that many of you)**

He yelled down to his mom. " Mom, I'm already an hour and a half early!" He turned to Kori. " Race you down the steps!"

Of course, it was close, but Kori's got really long legs, so she was faster. And she was on every sports team a female could be on between 7th & 10th grade. They were in 10th grade now. The Logans (excluding Gar) were surprised to see Kori, since she didn't go through the front door.

" Hello Mr. and Mrs. Logan. Just came in to walk Gar to school."

" Good morning Kori. Did you climb in trough the window again?" Mrs. Logan asked. Kori nodded her head in reply.

" Haven't had that happen in a while. Good to see you again Kori." Mr. Logan said from behind the newspaper. Kori and Garfield caught a picture of Bruce Wayne on the front page. He was standing beside his adopted son, Richard Grayson. Garfield and Kori picked up some toasted Pop-Tarts and were on their way.

It was a pretty warm September day, surprisingly. It wasn't really warm in Gotham. So Kori was wearing light blue Capri's, white New Balances, a light pink short-sleeved shirt, but that was kinda covered up by a light white jacket with a hood. On the back of the jacket was the word _star_ written in sequins that had a star connected to the end of the cursive _R_. She had her hair parted slightly to the side with her dangling small chandelier earrings. Her emerald eyes shone brightly on her tanned skin.

Gar had on his Air Force Ones, pearly white, khaki shorts, a shirt with a thin green horizontal line, then a small thin blue one, then a small thin white one, and repeat that pattern blond hair was messy and almost covered his dark green eyes.

" Did you see that picture of Bruce Wayne and his adopted son, Richard Grayson?" Gar questioned. Kori nodded yes. " I hope I get to meet Richard. I heard he goes to the school. He must have girls crawling all over him. I bet you have a crush on him, don't you?"

She looked up at him and smiled. He must've gotten taller because he was taller than her. " Well I should. He _is _my boyfriend."

Gar stopped dead in his tracks. " _The _Richard Grayson is _your _boyfriend. You must be the most popular girl in school."

" Not the most, but at least the second. The first is Kitten Moth."

" Kitten? Imagine what her daughter's name would be. Why is she the first?"

" Because she lost her virginity when she was 11. She's the school…slut is what you could call her. She's way ugly; I don't know why anyone would enjoy the company of _her_. Carmen is also popular, around the 5th or 6th. Richard is the most popular guy alive. That's why Kitten hates me so. She can get any guy she wants with her money, every guy but Richard and the guys who hate her; Richard friends."

" So if I'm friends with you, I'm pretty cool."

" Yep. Turn this corner over here. I need to see Richard. I left my volleyball bag in his living room. Well, the first one." She began to run toward the big manor ahead. Garfield was behind her. _Who has more than one living room? _He thought. He watched as Kori backpack, a light blue one that was one of those ones that have one handle that goes on one of your shoulders **(I put mine on my left)** and goes across your chest and the actual part where your books go in is at the end, flew behind her like there were no books in there, when there were about 3. Garfield's own bag, those one that are like a normal backpack but only has one strap and hangs on your back like a regular backpack, just so happened to be empty. Then he actually caught up to her because he started running.

They ran up the long driveway and up the many steps. She rang the doorbell twice, her special ring. Richard came to the door, fully dress, not counting his shoes. He looked very good in his somewhat baggy jeans and his red shirt that was blue on the short sleeves. He looked behind his girlfriend to Garfield, who just smiled his stupid, goofy grin and waved. Kori introduced them before they both walked into the house.

Kori greeted Alfred and Bruce as she always did, and went straight to looking for her bag. She found it behind the couch after several minutes. She had already warned Garfield about touching things because once he touched; he broke. Gar eyed an exquisite piece of modern art. " Don't touch!" Kori yelled. Richard had already been in his shoes for a good 3 minutes. He had the same as Garfield. And Garfield notice.

" For the most popular kids in school, y'all don't dress like it."

Kori smiled as she walked over to Richard. " That's the difference between me and Kitten. She's popular and makes sure everyone knows it. I'm popular and I didn't even know it until a few months ago. I just act like myself and people just naturally liked me." It would have sounded snobby coming from anybody else, but with Kori, it sounded sweet and innocent.

Richard wrapped his arms around her as she turned around in his grasp. " You are so right, Kor." They gave each other a short, but sweet kiss. Gar was getting impatient; no surprise. " Can we get a move on, I don't even know anything about the school."

" You seem SO patient," Richard said. Gar already knew even though Rich was rich, **(haha) **he acted like a normal guy.

Kori told him about her closest friends. " There's you, and you already have met my boyfriend Richard," she indicated their locked hands, " there's Victor, he's on the football team, as well as Richard. I wouldn't let him try out last year. I didn't want him to get severely injured. Victor is very tall and he is African-American. His girlfriend is Karen Beecher; they just started going out. Sometimes we call her 'Bee'. I occasionally talk to Jennifer Hex and Wally West. Wally and I are some of the fastest kids in school. Jennifer is somewhat dark and gloomy. I know they like each other, but they won't admit it. And then there's Rachel."

" What about her?"

" You probably wouldn't be able to get closed to her."

" Why not?"

" Her boyfriend, Malcolm Black, is not 'over-protective', but he won't let anybody touch 'his property'. He is abusive to her and he has cheated on her numerous times."

Richard but in. " He even tried to get together with Kori!"

" I know for a fact that he has been with my sister, Carmen."

Garfield was confused as crap. " If he's so uncaring, why doesn't she just leave him?"

Richard and Kori looked at each other, choosing who would answer. Kori decided she should. They were at the school, so they sat at the table Kori, Richard, and the gang usually sat at outside. Kori kept her voice low, since Malcolm was known for sneaking up behind people. " I asked her that once as well. She has tried, but he would hurt her. Terribly. She didn't come to school one week after they had a fight." She turned to Richard, who continued the story. " Me and Rachel used to be real close, like brother and sister. But now Malcolm practically cuts her off from the human world. He doesn't let her go anywhere without him, or let anybody see her without his permission. Sometimes he lets Kori and I pass, but that's because we kinda know everybody, and we could find somebody to beat him up. He isn't that buff."

" So I shouldn't mess with him. So now about the teachers."

" Well Mr. Moth is the principal; another reason why Kitten thinks she's popular. The teacher you don't want to get pissed is Mr. Wilson. Rumor has it that he's a child molester that just got out of prison for a few years." Richard said.

" Of course you started that rumor," Kori said, punching him playfully.

" What can I say? I didn't get caught. Anyways, we have this one teacher, Ms. Rouge. She's got this Transylvanian accent. You know with the 'vampires'," he did air quotes. " Get on her bad side and she'll send you to 'derention' as she says it. And if you sit in her front row, you'll get spit on. Now for Mr. Mod. He's one crazy dude that always ends up calling you 'his ducky'; blame the British accent. He may be crazy, but he's got kickass project ideas, and you always pick your groups. This year they have the guy gym class separated from the girl gym class. The guys have Mr. Rancid; he has tough exercises. The girls have Mrs. Pantha, I heard she rocks out loud."

" Oh! And you'll love the drama teacher, Mr. Jumbo we call him. He's always up to Mumbo-Jumbo. And the Cooking teacher, Ms. May, is pretty old, but she makes great pies!" Kori added.

" Well," Gar satrted, " what's her sister's name, Ms.-"

" Don't even, Gar!" Kori said.

They had 45 minutes until classes started, so Kori and Richard followed Gar to the office so he could get his schedule. They waited outside.

" You know what, Richard?"

" What?"

" I just imagined Gar with Rachel. They seemed like a good couple."

" Then they must get together because you're like a matchmaker. First you thought about me and you," he kissed her forehead, " and look at us. And then with Vic and Bee last week, and you have a feeling about Jen and Wally, huh?" she nodded, as she does a lot.

" Well, I'm so glad I imagined you as my prince charming." She said as they both kissed. They broke it off after several minutes, smiling. " So," Kori said, " are you coming to the pep rally?"

" Yeah, aren't the cheerleaders, volleyball players, and the football players opening?"

" And the soccer players."

" What time's your game?" Richard queered.

" It depends how fast we crush the competition," she giggled, " Our first game starts at 4:00, about an hour or so after the pep rally. Then the other two teams play. They should be over at about 5:45, and then we'll play. What about yours?"

" Game starts at 7:00."

" I should be able to make it."

" Yeah, you better! I gotta have my #1 girl by my side."

" Well as long as you're at my game. My mom and dad are bringing snacks and Gatorade for each game."

" And I'll bring your gum. Because you can't play without gum **(I know, it's SO hard!)**"

They smiled. They knew so much about each other. Garfield came through the doors and they went back toward the outside cafeteria. Kori knew all of her closest friends schedules, and all of them had at least one class together. All of them, except Malcolm (thank goodness) were in the same theatre arts class. The perfect time, Kori and Richard thought, for Garfield to meet Rachel in private.

They walked outside and met Rachel, Victor, Bee, Wally, and Jennifer. They all made it a habit to show up at least 30 minutes ahead of the school bell, because Malcolm always came 5 minutes before the last bell. They all went to there secret hiding spot behind the bleachers outside where the football field was. Garfield was kind of just tagging along with them.

" Everyone, I would like you to meet my best friend from elementary and middle school, Garfield Logan."

Victor and Wally were about to crack up because he had the name of a fat orange feline. That's what made Garfield add, " I'd like to be called Gar."

They all made polite welcomes. Rachel was last. Her voice was quiet. " Hi, I'm Rachel. Hello Garfield." She shook his hand as she lifted her head up. They both felt a slight spark, which made them draw their hands back quickly. Garfield tried one of his jokes. "Is this field made out of carpet? There's a lot of static electricity over here!" Rachel didn't usually laugh at people's jokes, but Garfield was a bit different. So the least she did was crack a smile.

Kori and Richard looked at each other, then at Garfield and the walking away Rachel, then back at each other. Kori and Richard had this kind of psychic connection. They were both thinking; _Let's get those two together._

And Gar was thinking something along those lines. He watch Rachel walk away and was thinking _Rachel, your man definitely isn't me. So what can I do to be your man?_


	2. Pep Rallies and Games

**Ya Man Ain't Me**

**By AnimalGurl55**

Chapter 2: Pep Rallies and Games

" _But he be treatin' you rude_

_Always got an attitude_

_Like he's the only dude made for you, whoa"_

_­­­­­­­­­­­

* * *

_

Kori waved a hand in front of Garfield's face. "Hello! Garfield Logan! Anybody there? You know, its things like this that make me think I should've paid more attention to you while you grew up. Hey look! Somebody's torturing a koala!"

" What, where! I'm going to kill them!"

" I'm sorry Garfield," Richard said, " We don't keep koalas at school. I'll be happy to drive you down to a zoo though!"

" I'm starting to hate you more and more with each passing second." He said in an aggravated tone.

" He means well Garfield…most of the time. Come on, we've got 25 minutes until school starts." They all walked back to the lunch table. After they sat down, Carmen came by. She was wearing a short, short skirt that was black and a tube top that was hot pink, the color that everybody in Kitten's crew wore.

" Hello, sister dear."

" Hello anything but dear sister." Kori replied. Carmen ignored her and went straight to talking to Richard. " Hi Richard. Do you want to do something later?"

" I'm taken and busy."

" I don't know why you like my _little_ sister."

" At least she didn't fail kindergarten."

Garfield coughed between his words, making them sound muffled. " Carmen (cough) loser."

" And if it isn't Kori's loser friend, Garfield."

" How is it that I could be her 'loser' friend and she's more popular than you? What grade are you in again Carmen?"

" I am a junior and I refuse to talk to the lower class."

" And yet you're still here," Kori replied.

" And I refuse to talk to someone with the IQ of an peanut," Garfield said.

" And someone who supposed to be a senior, but they sadly failed nap time." Richard added, making the rest of them laugh.

" Whatever." she started to walk away.

" Goodbye my wicked witch of a sister! Just don't fall down the steps! Then I'll feel bad for wishing that you'd fall down them." Kori waved goodbye.

Karen was here by now, wearing her yellow tank top with a jean half-jacket and her dark blue jeans. She had her hair in her traditional puffy pigtails but she had on two blue ribbons for each pigtail; for the pep rally. Their school colors were blue and white. " Hey guys…and other."

" Oh sorry," Kori said, " this is _Gar_ my elementary school friend." She leaned in a bit to whisper to her. " His name is actually Garfield."

" Right, name problems," she said aloud.

" I do not have name problems! I just _prefer_ to be called Gar."

" Well it's nice to meet you Gar," she said shaking is hand, " I'm sure you'll like it here. If you ever want to join choir, I'm the girl to see."

" I'll keep that in mind."

Angie ran over to Kori. She had on a red short sleeve shirt that had black lace on the V-neck and a black flowing skirt that stopped right below her knees.

" Kori, Kori!" she said in her British accent.

" Yeah what's wrong?"

" Kitten! She's trying to-" she had to take a breath because she had ran over here, "- hurt one of our volleyball players. I think it's somebody in the first rotation."

" Okay, I'm coming with you. Bye guys!" Kori ran over with Angie down to the auditorium.

" I'm guessing you have a bad security system here since you run free for an hour?"

" Yeah pretty much." Richard said, replying to Garfield's somewhat question.

" So…" Gar said.

" Yep."

" Want to go see what Kori's doing?"

" Yeah, you're boring."

" Okay, now I really hate you!"

" Just kidding. Come on," Richard led the way. " The auditorium is this way."

They ran down and saw Kori, Angie, and Heather; the member of the volleyball team who was their best server. She could make it go deep and make it seem like it's out, but it's actually in; but just barely. Richard and Garfield kept their distance though and hid slightly.

" You know, Heather. You have freakishly long arms. If I just broke one, maybe you would lose the game for your team. I wonder how much they would _hate_ you," Kitten said snickering in the end.

" We would _never_ hate her and you will _touch _her," Angie replied, stepping in front of her.

" Oh and if it isn't little miss Angie. Always trying to stand up for someone. Not a very smart thing to do when you're messing with someone _way_ taller than you." Kitten looked down at Angie, since Angie was pretty small."

" Oh and if it is not the biggest slut in the world, Kitten Moth."

" Oh my, Korina Anders. How long has it been?"

" Two days. This may shock you, but in other words, 48 hours. Yes I know, you might not understand that, so I'll translate," She started to talk slower, "The time it took you to be with 15 guys."

" Ahahaha! Very funny Korina."

" Kori's my name," she snapped her fingers, "getting the guy you want but can't have is my game."

Heather called out, " That's Kori one and Kitten zip!"

" You just wait 'Kori'. When homecoming comes around and they choose a king and queen, it'll be a popularity contest. Which means, Richard and me _will_ be crowned. And I'll make sure of it."

Richard and Gar stepped out from behind the wall. " Oh kitty, kitty, kitty cat," Richard said, " I wouldn't go with you if there was a bomb strapped to my chest and they were threatening to kill me."

" Oh, Heather," Angie said, " Richard is playing, too. Give him a point."

" Richard, do you always have to be so difficult?"

" I'll stop being difficult when you stop being a bitch, which is impossible for you."

" Richard's got two," Garfield said from behind.

" Who are you," Tara said from beside Kitten, " another one of Kori's stupid posse?"

" You know what Tara, leave him out of this," Kori said, " You used to nice and we were actually friends. And then you started act like you are all that, be a slut, and hang out with _her_. You had quality friends, and then you blew it when Kitten asked you to become a cheerleader and you decided to change. That's why your little 'cheerleading team' is the worst in the state and couldn't even make it to the regional competition. Good day, losers."

And they stormed off.

* * *

" Oh that Tara Malcov makes me so mad!" Kori exclaimed as she got her stuff out of her locker since class was to start in 15 minutes.

" Like I couldn't tell. What happened?" Gar said as he looked around for locker 4593, Kori's being 4562.

" See, she was really nice to me in 6th grade, Kitten of course was mean. We hung out and everything. I also hung out with everybody else you saw. Anyways, her dad started to get lots of more money and she started acting all snobby. Kitten liked that so she approached her with the position of cheerleader. The rest is history."

" Okay… so I need to find my locker which is no where around here. But I'll see you next period okay?"

" Yeah sure. Now I have to go to Honors Biology with Mr. Wilson. It's torture."

" That's what you get for being smart. Hey who has 1st period English?"

" I think Rachel may, I don't know. She has had her classes changed numerous times. It's not like you do anything in English with Ms. Rouge anyways. I know for a fact we all have Theater Arts in 6th period, without Malcolm. Why do ask?"

" No reason."

" Okay see you later Gar." She shut her locker and ran to her class on the 1st floor, and she was on the 4th floor currently. Garfield found his locker and saw Vic there.

" Oh look, it's the fat orange cat."

"You know what, I don't like you people very much."

" It's not my fault, it's YOUR name. Where you going to now?"

" 1st period English."

Vic laughed. " Just hope you're not in the first row."

" I know. Ms. Rouge spits right?"

" Like a sprinkler spraying water."

" This sucks."

" Oh well, I'll see you later, good luck."

" I'll need it."

* * *

Garfield found a seat in the FAR back. It was open and it happened to be next to…Malcolm. Whoops. Did I say Malcolm? It was Rachel, just kidding. She was reading the book assigned to the class; _Edgar Allen Poe_. She also had on headphones that were connected to an iPOD attached to her waist.

" I'm not so sure if we're supposed to listen to music in this class," He said as he took a seat.

She looked up. " Oh hi. Garfield was it?" She talked really soft.

" Yeah." He didn't care that she called him Garfield. With Kori, it was just a thing she did because she hadn't seen him in such a long time. And with Rachel it sounded really…sweet.

" And she does let you listen to music on her good days."

" What are her good days?"

" When she scores a date with her boyfriend. I think his name is Mallah."

" Oh, so what are you listening to?"

" Call Me When You're Sober by Evanescence."

" Can I listen?"

" I guess there's no harm in that." She took one of the earpieces and gave it to him. He gladly took it and started the book. He tried to make conversation about the book since she seemed really interested in it.

" So, what's your favorite poem by Edgar Allen Poe?"

" Oh, I just love _The Raven_."

" What's your favorite part?"

" The ending. I love how the raven just keeps saying 'nevermore'. And then when the man is stuck in the floor it ends as 'and his soul shall be lifted nevermore!' I think that's really cool because the bird's onlh word was 'nevermore' and it ended with 'nevermore'."

" He also wrote _The Tell-Tale Heart_. What's that about?"

" Well this man has this really old neighbor that he just despises. So he kills him."

" Dramatic."

" Yeah. So he cuts him up and then sticks his body under the boards of his room, so nobody would find out. Then the police come to his house because they heard cries of terror. So he lets them investigate because he thinks none of them would dare look under the boards. Then he hears the beating of the heart; thump-thump, thump-thump. So he asks them if they hear that and they don't. Then it increases and gets louder. Then he can't stand it and tears up the boards and then the beating stops."

" So it's like his conscience was making him hear the beating."

" Exactly." She continued to read the book, but Gar kept looking at her, deep in thought. _'I bet I could brighter up her day every morning if I just had these little conversations with her.' _

He looked down at the book and continued to read.

_Edgar Allen Poe was a very lonely man, which is why they believe he wrote such depressing stories. He was married to his wife and she died of a horrible disease. Then his sister, too, died of the same horrible disease. He got married again and that wife also died of the same disease. The disease was not common, so one wonders how all of them died of this disease._

" That's ironic."

" You could also say it's incongruous."

" You know what I'm talking about right?"

" That all of the females in his life died of the same uncommon disease."

" Yeah." The song changed and Garfield started to sing it quietly so no could hear him.

_When darkness turns to light  
_

_It ends tonight,  
_

Rachel heard him and joined him.

_It ends tonight.  
_

_Just a little insight won't make this right  
_

_It's too late to fight  
_

_It ends tonight,  
_

_It ends_

_When darkness turns to light  
_

_It ends tonight,  
_

_It ends tonight.  
_

_Just a little insight won't make this right  
_

_It's too late to fight  
_

_It ends tonight,  
_

_It ends tonight._

They started to giggle at the end.

" You're good at singing, Rachel."

" Not really."

" Not really? That was awesome!"

The bell rang four times.

" Well, I have to go Gar. But it was nice talking to you." She walked away with a smile on her face and waved goodbye to him before she walked out of the room. He smiled and waved back.

* * *

All during 4th period gym, Rachel was smiling, even while they were doing suicides.

Kori looked over at her. " What's got you so happy-go-lucky?"

" I had a very interesting talk today."

" With Malcolm?"

" No, he's not even here today. With Garfield."

" About what?"

" Poetry, Edgar Allen Poe to be exact."

" Garfield and poetry? The only time you see those words together is if the words 'doesn't read' are in the middle." **(A/N: I got that off of Fairly Odd Parents.)**

" Well, we were reading a book about him."

" The only time you see the words-"

" Would you stop that?!" She said in a slightly aggravated tone.

" Okay, okay. I'm done. Ready to play some dodge ball."

" Okay, but _I_ get to hit Tara."

" Okay deal." They started throwing balls and dodging them.

* * *

Mr. Wilson raised his voice above everyone else as he spoke through the microphone. "QUIET DOWN!" The large gymnasium went dead silent. He handed it over to Kori.

She started off kind of nervous since Mr. Wilson was giving that crazy look he often did. " Haha, yeah…Thanks Mr. Wilson," then her voice returned back to normal as he left. " So I'm Kori Anders. I'm a sophomore and I'm the captain of the JV Volleyball Team. The JV stands for ' Junior Varsity.' The rest of the team is over there," she pointed to a part of the gymnasium where all of them were sitting at the bottom of the stands and the spotlight went over to them. " So whose got that school spirit?!" You could hear continuous 'whoops' and yelling. " Okay, okay! You can stop now! Seriously stop now." The crowd went silent again. " Thanks. Richard?" she looked over at him and he lifted his own microphone.

" I'm Richard Grayson and-"

" We love you Richard!" someone from the crowd yelled.

" Uh…yeah. _Anyways_, you heard from Kori, my _girlfriend_. I'm the captain of the football team. We have a game today after the volleyball game. And this is a pep rally and you have no pep in your step. Don't show some spirit, but not so much that we wish we were dead." And they got all crazy again.

Then Kitten started to talk. " Okay now shut up! Kitten is speaking! Okay like, I'm Kitten and I'm like THE most popular girl in the school that MY daddy owns."

" Come on Kitten," Richard said as he let out an exhausted sigh, " you act like you're Paris Hilton and the school is the Hilton."

" You should be making a point about the pep rally anytime now," Kori added.

" Fine. It's today." She replied sticking her tongue out at Kori.

" What's today?" Kori said with a smirk. Kitten didn't reply so Kori answered herself. " Yeah, today's Monday."

The rest of the teams did their thing and they had contests to see which grade could get the most 'spirit points.'

" Okay," Kori said from the sophomores' side since she was a sophomore, " The scores so far have the juniors at 18 spirit points, the sophomores slightly trailing at 15 spirit points, the freshmen at 10, and the seniors dead last at 4."

" We have one more contest," Karen said (she's the choir's lead singer) beside Kori, " see what grade can get hype the loudest. Maybe the seniors can get back in the game. Let's see the freshmen!"

" Whoo!!! Class of 2010! 2010! 2010! 2010 are the freshmen!"

" Now come on sophomores!" Kori yelled.

" Class of '09! What? What? '09! What? What? '09! What? What? '09! We're going to rule this school in when? '09!"

" Okay now the juniors!" Karen exclaimed.

" Who's going to win this? The juniors! Who's going to win this? The juniors! And don't forget it!"

" Okay, okay that was alright. But seniors take over?" Kori said.

" Who runs this school? The seniors! Who runs this school? The seniors! And that's never going to change!"

" Newsflash," Karen said, " the principal runs the school. And before you say anything Kitten, we knows he's your father."

" Okay," Alex said (girl), the leader of the soccer team, " Jonathan here, the champion of the spelling bee and the chess captain accompanied by Sandra, a member of the math team will read the winners."

" Well," Sandra said, " it was close and pretty good. But let's see how the teachers scored us. Jonathan?"

" In last place came the…freshmen with 17 points."

" That was unexpected," Sandra replied.

" And in 3rd place came the…seniors with 21 points. They came up pretty good."

" And in 1st place are the…SOPHOMORES with 29 points."

" Which left the juniors at 25 points."

" It was close but the sophomores took it away!"

They did their victory cheer. " SOPHOMORES! WHAT? SOPHOMORES! WHAT? SOPHOMORES! WHAT? SOPHOMORES! WHAT? SOPHOMORES! WHAT?"

" Okay, okay. The volleyball players may leave for their game that starts in 1 hour," Alex said.

* * *

" Kori, will you pemper with me?" Angie said after they did all of their exercises. Pempering in volleyball is practicing. Kori bumped it to Angie. Angie set it, since she was their best setter. Kori spiked it, and then Angie bumped it. Then Kori set it, and then Angie spiked it.

" Okay team, hitting lines!" the coach said. She'd throw a ball at the person and they'd try to bump it back. Kori's was slightly curved so she did her **(she stole it from me!)** legendary bump with one arm. " Good job Kori."

Then they did their other hitting line. They had 3 lines. The middle one was 5, the one on the far left was 8, and the one on the far left was 2. Think of it like the numbers on a phone. The coach would throw the ball to Angie, their usual setter, and she'd set it to any of the lines. If she did it to 8, she'd have to backwards set it. They could either spike it or bump it over the net.

She called out the numbers. " 222…888…555…888,"

" Okay team, clear out so the other team can practice."

Kori went over to the bench and greeted her mom and dad. " Hey mom, dad."

" Hello dear," her mother said, " we brought the snacks."

" You can put them where we always do, upstairs."

" Good luck, sweetheart," her dad said giving her a kiss on the forehead. Her parents walked away.

She sat in the bleachers waiting for her friends. She was mostly waiting on Richard. " Hey Kor."

" Hey Richard, what took you so long?"

" Kitten and her 'gang'. Here you go." He handed her a pack of Extra Green Apple Gum.

" Cool, is anybody else coming?"

" Garfield's on his way. Rachel may come. I'm here. Vic I don't think is coming and Karen's with Vic. And Wally and Jen are on their way."

" Okay, that's good enough."

The referee blew his whistle, signaling for the teams to get ready to play now that they had their line judges.

" Got to go." She gave him a quick kiss and ran over behind the line because she was serving first. She had killer jump serves. **(I do too, but I only jump because I'm short)** Right before the game, Kori started the cheer that she always did to get them pumped up. **(I made this up for the volleyball team I'm on at school.) **

" Are you ready?"

Then the team replied, " Yes, we're ready."

" Are you ready?"

" Yes, we're ready."

Then they all said, " To bump, what? To set, what? To spike it over that net." Then they clapped twice. " To bump, what? To set, what? To spike it over that net," clap twice, " you know, fo'sho', **(Yes, I'm aware that that's not a word.)** Make your knees touch you elbows." Then they jumped up and touched their elbows with their knees, " Whoop!"

Carmen was still on the court flirting with a guy. " Carmen move!" Kori hissed at her. Carmen gave her a death glare as she walked off the court, accidentally spilling some of her drink.

Kori put her hair up in a lose ponytail, threw up the ball, then jumped up and served it over the net.

Eventually the score was 10 15, they had 10. The first team to 25 points own the first round; and you had to win 2/3. Sometimes they made you go to 27 if something happened. The other team spiked the ball over really hard. Kori was now in the front of the rotation, by Angie Heather. She was in the middle and grabbed Angie's hand so they could switch when the ball hit so Angie would have a better chance of getting the ball on the second hit because she was the setter. In the back was a girl name Lindsey. Obviously, she wasn't paying attention to the ball. It went right passed her and hit the floor. Kori, Angie and Heather all turned their heads around to see what the line judge called it as.

"Line judge?" the referee questioned.

They put their hands out signaling that it was in and that the point was for the other team. Kori face grew as red as her hair. " Time out," Argent called. The coach told Kori to sit the next few rotations out to cool down. In her place was a girl named Kim. But right before Kori left the room to get a drink, she pointed to Lindsey.

" Hey," Lindsey's head turned, " bench."

She fanned herself with a piece of paper and got a piece of gum from Richard as she sat down at the top of the bleachers.

" Hey, what's going on with the game, you guys are losing."

" Some people can't tell when they're supposed to hit the ball." She glarede down at Lindsey. Beside them Garfield and Rachel came giggling softly.

" Where have you been? You've missed half of the first game."

" Well, we were just hanging out Kor," was Garfield's reply.

Rachel stopped her giggling enough to say, " Who's winning?"

Kori's reply was her biting down hard on her gum continuously.

" Slow down Kori! You're chewing like a horse! So I'm guessing you're losing?" Garfield said.

" Hey Kori," the coach said, " Come back in the game,"

She handed her drink to Richard. " Got to go guys. Be sure to tell me what you were laughing about later." She skipped some of the bleachers and switched with Angie so she could have a break. Angie sat down next to Rachel and saw Jennifer come in with Wally, hand-in-hand, and walk to the far side of the gym. " What happened to those two?" she pondered.

" Probably got together by now." Richard replied. He put his attention toward the game again. The score was tied: 24 to 24. The next team who didn't hit the ball when it was in lost the game. He looked at Kori who was currently in the back row. She was waiting for the other team to make the ball come back. It did, but it was really close to the net, so Heather had to hit it backwards instead of straight up. It went really far back. Angie tried to whisper to Kori to give her a heads-up. The other team stopped paying attention because they didn't think that Kori would hit it.

" Do a backwards bump." Kori nodded her head a bit to show she heard. She went after the ball and hit it backwards with lots of force. The ball went to the other side and nobody hit it. Kori was just about to stop herself when she slipped on the spilled drink Carmen left on the ground. She let out a shriek as she ran into the wall head-on. The referee called the ball in and gave the point to their side, making them win the game. The team came running toward Kori.

" You won the game for us!" She kept on rubbing her fore head. She had a talk with the coach; she could sit out the next game—all of it.

" Guess what?" Kori said to Richard.

" What? You're going to flatter me with something?" He gave her one of his pearly white smiles.

" Not yet, but we have extra time since I don't have to play in the next game." She game him a sneaky smile. He mocked her smile.

" Come on Kori, go get changed. I still have to go to my game."

She emerged from the locker rooms minutes later. The group got a quick snack from Kori's parents and went out to the football field. They saw Karen and Victor already there.

" Hey Kori, aren't you supposed to be at your game?" Karen asked.

" I ran into a wall; long story."

When it was 6, Richard and Victor—and Wally who had just gotten there—prepared for the upcoming game. Time flew pass quickly; like the speed of light. Garfield and Rachel kept socializing, while Kori talked quietly with Karen and Jennifer. The game actually started 15 minutes ahead of schedule. They were playing against the big and buff Hackford High. Their mascot was the bulldog while Jump High's was the Knights. And their cheerleaders weren't doing a great job on boosting anyone's spirit since they were losing—badly.

Kori didn't want to see Richard losing this badly. She ran down toward where the cheerleaders were.

" You're not aloud to be here Kori," Carmen replied shoving a pom-pom in her face.

Kori took the pom-pom from her hand and bumped her out of the way. She improvised on trying to make up a cheer.

" Uh…Come on Knights!! You're blue & white! Come on Knights!! Your colors are tight! Come on Knights! Let's win this fight!" She continued to yell this louder and louder until they got ahead by a little. Karen helped her out.

" Whoo! Way to go Richard, Victor, and Wally! Go Knights!! Get hype!!" The crowd cheered them on to encourage them.

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­They were eating at Domino's to celebrate their winning of both games. Angie joined them soon after the football game was half over since the volleyball game had been over for a while. Kori was sitting by Garfield so she could ask him some questions. " So what do you think of Rachel?"

" I actually like her."

Kori raised a brow, " Like Jen and Wally like each other?"

" Yeah, in a way. I don't know what to do though." He looked down.

" I'll find something out," she took a bite of her pizza and added mustard on the top, " sooner or later, don't worry."

Rachel rose from the table. " Well guys, I have to go now. See you later."

" Bye Rachel." They all said.

* * *

Rachel opened the door into the dark room and closed it behind her.

" You're late."

" Look Mal—"

" Close the door. And lock it, too."

She did as she was told.

* * *

**Okay people, so I see I have almost NO reviews for _Delicate but Deadly_. It has a boring first chapter, but the second chapter is going to rock! And if I don't have a lot of reviews for that, it may bring me down while I try to write this story. And we wouldn't want that, if you catch my drift…**


	3. SATO

******Ya Man Ain't Me**

******By AnimalGurl55**

_Chapter 3: S.A.T.O_

_But I bet that he didn't count on, _

_No boy like me comin' round  
(Giving you things to think about cause I know what's up)  
Since he ain't tryna step it up, _

_Don't you think you should give him up?  
(Cause he ain't worth your love)

* * *

_

Kori skipped down the sidewalk merrily. They had all had such a good time last night. Plus Richard had asked her to go on a date with him on Friday. And better yet, she was going to walk to school with Rachel the first time since she started dating Malcolm. And it had snowed a quantity the night before; although they did not get out of school for it. She rang Rachel's doorbell after she had walked up their stairs.

No answer…

She rang it twice the next time.

No answer…

She turned the doorknob and surprisingly, it was open. She walked inside, looking around. " Rachel, are you there? Remember, we're walking to school to day." She heard a small and distant noise coming from up the steps; where Rachel's room was.

" Rachel," she called again. " I know your mom's off doing some fashion thing so she's not here, so I let myself in. Rachel?" She slowly opened the door with a creak.

Rachel was bent over her bed; crying into her hands. Kori's eyes widened as she stepped forward and placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder.

" Rachel, are you okay?" Rachel's head came up and Kori gasped. Not only was it tear-stained; it was bruised and scared, as were her arms, and she saw a small puddle of blood on the ground.

" Malcolm," was Rachel's only reply. Kori became furious. _You can mess with me, _she thought, _but once you hurt someone really close to me—like Rachel, Richard, or Garfield—that means war._

" Are you coming to school today?" Kori said.

" Probably not at all this week."

"…I'll get your assignments for you."

" …Than—Thank you Kori."

" You're welcome, just don't let him control you. You're making me worried," Kori replied sincerely. All Rachel did was nod. Kori walked out of the room after she knew she wasn't going to get anything else out of her. She made her way down the steps very slowly.

**_Lithium—don't want to lock me up inside  
Lithium—don't want to forget how it feels without  
Lithium—I want to stay in love with my sorrow  
Oh but God I want to let it go_**

**_Come to bed, don't make me sleep alone  
Couldn't hide the emptiness you let it show  
Never wanted it to be so cold  
Just didn't drink enough to say you love me_**

**_I can't hold on to me  
Wonder what's wrong with me _**

**_Lithium—don't want to lock me up inside  
Lithium—don't want to forget how it feels without  
Lithium—I want to stay in love with my sorrow_**

**_I…_**

**_Don't want to let it lay me down this time  
Drown my will to fly  
Here in the darkness I know myself  
Can't break free until I let it go  
Let me go_**

**_Darling, I forgive you after all  
Anything is better than to be alone  
And in the end I guess I had to fall  
Always find my place among the ashes_**

**_I can't hold on to me  
Wonder what's wrong with me_**

**_Lithium—don't want to lock me up inside  
Lithium—don't want to forget how it feels without  
Lithium—I want to stay in love with my sorrow  
Oh but God I want to let it go_**

Rachel ran after her." I don't want to be alone." Rachel said before Kori walked out of the house. She continued once Kori turned. " If I leave him, not only will he hurt me…I—I'd be alone.

Kori's eyebrows scrunched together."You wouldn't be alone. You'd have Victor, Jennifer, Wally…everyone! But if you needed close people to talk to, you'd have me; you'd have Richard…you'd have Garfield." Before Rachel could say anything in reply, Kori briskly walked out of the door. Rachel let a sigh out as two tears, one from each eye, slowly cascaded down her cheeks.

_Kori doesn't know what she's getting herself into._

**While Kori was walking**

She shook her head from side to side. _This must stop; must. I will not consider myself a fit friend if I allow Rachel to destroy herself like this. I…I have to stop this. ……But I can't do it alone._ Her eyes lit up as she ran to school, thinking of an idea and concocting it in her mind.

She quickly dialed Richard's number first.

" Kori?"

" Yes, Richard. I need to ask something of you."

" Anything."

" At school, be in front of the janitor's closet—on the first floor."

" Any special reason?"

She smiled, though—of course—he didn't see it. " I shall tell you when you get there."

Then she called Garfield (still sleeping) and told him the same thing after loudly yelling 'Friend, please wake up!'

* * *

When Kori got to school, she quickly said hello to anyone who passed her and then sought her way to the janitor's closet. Once she found it, she looked both ways and went inside; ducking down and peeking through the one-way window.

15 minutes passed as she wrote down her plan in a spiral notebook. She heard voices outside the door. She finished the last part of her plan and looked out the glass. It was Gar and Richard, looking confused as they searched back and forth for her. She slightly opened the door and slipped out.

" Hello." She said, startling them from behind. They both jumped, but they tried to act it off like nothing happened. She held the door open for them. "Please, do come in." They hesitantly walked in, looking around. They both sat down criss cross on the floor in front of Kori, who was standing.

She cleared her throat. " I have both brought you here for one reason, to discuss Plan S.A.T.O." Garfield waved his hand high in the air. She left out an inaudible sigh. "Garfield?"

" What is 'Plan S.A.T.O?" Richard nodded in agreement. THAT'S a first.

She smiled. " I'm glad you brought that up," she ripped out the piece of paper with that acronym on it and showed to them as she sat down so they could see well in the dim closet. " Garfield," he turned to face her, " it has come to the attention of Richard and I that you have an…attraction to Rachel. Correct?"

He could feel the hot blood rushing to his face as he slightly nodded. " And I have recently seen Rachel; this morning." Kori's eyes became glassy. " She got…in trouble—for staying out with us."

" With her mother?" Richard asked? Bruce and Angela—Rachel's mother—had known each other very well. So he personally knew that she was really cool.

Kori looked down. " With Malcolm." She stated quietly. "That is why plan S.A.T.O must be put into action quickly. And Garfield," he looked up at her, " you are the main key."

He stood. " You're trying to make me 'woo' Rachel? Malcolm will kill me!"

" Not if everything goes according to plan," she pointed to the 'S'. " S stands for Search. Richard and I will search out Malcolm comrades, and take them down one by one. That is, of course, if you agree, Richard."

He leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. " Of course Kori. For you, my girl, and Rachel, the girl who's like my sister. And maybe, perhaps, Gar."

She smiled and continued as Garfield sat back down and gave Richard a high five, mainly for calling him 'Gar'. " A stands for Attack. Garfield, you must attack Malcolm immediately after he is down; at his weakest point. T stands for Take. You take the opportunity to, as you might say, woo Rachel. The O had to do with the T, as in Take Over. Protect her, keep her away from Malcolm, etc."

" It sounds like a good plan Kori," Gar stated, " but here's the thing. I'M A VEGETARIAN!"

She gave him a puzzled look. " I am aware of that."

" I'm only so big!"

" I agree." Richard said, getting a glare from Garfield.

" Garfield, Richard. You two and my brother are the three most important boys in my life. I hate to see you bickering and being neck and neck every second."

" Sorry…" they both murmured. She gave them each small kisses on the cheek. She stood up abruptly.

" If you saw her—her face—you would agree with me so much quicker. She was crying—she never cries. She thinks emotions are a waste of time and that's it's pointless to become upset over one silly person. Her arms and face were bruises, and she had blood dripping off of her finger," Kori started crying, " He hurts her, abuses her. And to see her hurt hurts me. It's horrible and no one should endure this kind of pain. No one!" The tears were falling like crazy now. Richard came up there to console her as she cried onto his shoulder. You looked like a single tear fell down his radiant blue eyes, but you couldn't tell. Garfield was left alone with his thoughts and two tears that slid from his two jungle green eyes.

_It's horrible, horrible! I want to kill that gigantic jerk for hurt such an angel. I have to go through with this plan. It's the only way I can think of that's the safest way to get Rachel and hurt this guy at the same time._

"I'll do it."

Kori's head shot up from Richard's now very wet shoulder. " What?"

" I'll do it."

She gave him a hug as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

" Thank you Garfield," she whispered in his ear, " I hope that we can get Rachel for you and free her of this unruly burden."

He left out a soft, " We have to."

* * *

**My shortest chapter ever! I just had to get the plan out, I'll make up for it later! **

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

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	4. NOTICE!

**Guys, that last chapter was NOT BY ME. AnimalGurl55. These dumb ass hackers that have this cracker name like Lulu and Neo put that chapter up! Not Me! So I'm getting rid of it! ****If it doesn't sound like me, DON'T READ IT!

* * *

**

**-The REAL AnimalGurl55!-**


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